What has surprised you about transitioning? (piefed.blahaj.zone)

submitted 1 week ago by lwhjp@piefed.blahaj.zone to c/trans

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Some things from me:

Early on, darkening of the perineal raphe was quite a surprise (aka the "sack stripe"). It's not something I've seen mentioned in most HRT guides.
How incredibly unreliable my own perception of how feminine I look is. People were treating me as a woman well before I could see even hints of it in my face.
It's nice that women will sit next to me on the train now. As the carriage fills up I quite often find myself in the center of a cluster of women, which is very affirming.
Makeup areas in bathrooms. I had no idea this was a thing, and they're great!

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[-] ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 21 points 1 week ago

How incredibly unreliable my own perception of how feminine I look is. People were treating me as a woman well before I could see even hints of it in my face.

So so true. We so often just can't see ourselves accurately, and even knowing that isn't always enough to change it. For me at least, I had to learn that the version of me that I see isn't the version that everyone else sees, and most importantly, my version isn't automatically the "correct" version.

But otherwise, honestly, I don't even remember much of what else surprised me anymore.

this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026

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